Alexa Hampel

10/10/13
Prof. Goodheart
Music Review
Who?

Imagine Dragons
From-Las Vegas
Alternative, indie, and electronic rock
2008-present
Dan Reynolds-vocals, percussion, guitar
Ben McKee-bass, backing vocals, keyboard
Wayne wing Sermon-guitar, cello, backing vocals
Dan Platzman-drums, viola, backing vocals
Producer-Alexander Grant
Labels-Interscope records
How they are live-very energized and enthusiastic, keeps the audience involved and
going; very intense and sounds just as good live

What?

Night Visions(2012)
Reached platinum in US with over 1,500,000 copies sold
Whole album available on iTunes(extra tracks-Working Man and Fallen), Target(extra
tracks-My Fault, Round and Round, The River, America, Selene, Cover Up, I Dont
Mind) Best Buy(extra tracks- Selene and The River), and Spotify(extra tracks-Cha-

Ching(Until We Grow Older))

Debut studio album(EPs previously released)
Indie and alternative rock

Radioactive-opening oos are eerie sounding (minor?)-matches well with guitar part;
how it slows down and fades out then comes back large and loud electronic and bass
drum beat; interesting concept to a song; rarely do you hear a song about a postapocalyptic revolution driven society (I raise my flag, dye my clothes, its a revolution I
suppose); slight harmonies throughout chorus that make it more interesting; loud beats
on one and three-typical rock song; chorus always more powerful, makes it interesting;
bridge-slows down and gets more relaxed, only to come back with an even larger sound

until the end; very powerful rock anthem

Tiptoe-opening eerie(again)-80s vibe with electronic keyboard opening-mellows out the
eerie and makes it more fun; perfect mix of electronic(some of their songs) and
alternative(the rest of their songs); calmer tone to the other songs on the album, not
necessarily dark or happy, just neutral(take some time to simmer down, keep your head
down low); electronic sounds keep it very interesting and different than most alternative

rock styles
Its Time-opening percussion and clapping rhythm is catchy, the viola part is catchy and
ear catching, goes throughout song until chorus, comes back, hooks you easily; lyrics
easy to remember, thought provoking(the path to heaven runs through miles of clouded
hell)bridge-simple drum beat, pumps you up; easy to keep tempo and clap and sing

along
Demons-darkest song of album; use of electronic sounds make it dark, add to pure rock
sound; harmonies-eerie and ear catching-add to dark tone of the song; bass drum during
chorus make it very intense; difference between verses and chorus are extreme and keeps
the audience hooked and interested; lyrics incredibly dark but I relate to them more than
the rest of the album (dont get too close, its dark inside, its where my demons hide,

its where my demons hide) makes it my favorite song because its so easy for me, or

anyone that is going through/have gone through a hard time, to relate to it;
On Top of the World-positive theme; electronic beat mixed with guitar and piano creates
positive feel for audience; lyrics (Im on top of the world, Im on top of the world, been
that way for a while now, paying my dues to the dirt); clapping syncopation in beginning
a good hook-used throughout; upbeat electronic sounds and whistling-all add to a change
in pace for the album-happy and upbeat; chorus has numerous voices-makes it seem like
its an anthem of sorts; the bridge is empowering (its a long way up when you hit the

ground, get up)-the anthem theme comes back

Amsterdam-use of electronic sounds to make timbre and texture as opposed to melodies
and riffs; darker lyrics but a more uplifting sound(its hard, believe me Ive tried, but I
keep coming up short); can easily hear the chord changes/ chords on the guitar; easy to
hear harmonies; bridge much different, calmer, and slower than rest of song(common

throughout album, obvious in this song); ending has purely rock sound
Hear Me-old rock feel in the beginning; interesting opening guitar riff; keyboard sounds
make song relatively electronic sounding, but overall more rock feel throughout entire
song; lyrics more dark, not as dark a tone as other songs (love is a game to you, its not
pretend, maybe if I fall asleep I wont breath right); one of the more classic/indie rock

sounding songs
Every Night-one of the slower songs on the album, relaxed but still dark tone quality;
occasional bass drum added for dramatic effect; less electronic, more rock; lyrics
relatively depressing (Im the colorless sunrise thats never good enough)-feels not
good enough but wont leave unless given a reason; staying for good; one of the deeper

songs on the album-lyric wise

Bleeding Out- incorporates a jagged-edge production effect, where the guitar chords are
separately recorded and mixed separately from the recording itself. When chords in the

song are not repeated and flow through, the recording plays normally. However, if the
chords repeat themselves, they literally repeat themselves in the recording as well to
produce a broken record effect, as if the recording is skipping over itself; after openingpercussion and bass drum add intensity to the song; lyrics (when the sky turns gray, and
everything is screaming, I will reach inside, just to find my heart is beating)-reach inside

yourself when the world has turned to shit

Underdog-very very electronic rock, more so than many of the other songs; bass drum
and symbols create contrast from verse to chorus; lyrics (that sounds like my luck, I get
the short end of it, oh I love to be the underdog) being the underdog isnt always an

awful thing; bridge easy to sing along to-just ohs

Nothing Left to Say-church-esque opening with the electronic organ sound; snare and
bass drum come in to add rock feel; another very dark song lyric wise(nothing left to
say, Im giving up now) but also show you have to push through the pain(my age has
never made me wise but I keep pushing on and on); perfect blend on electronic and

alternative rock in a single song; very repetitive but powerful orchestration nonetheless
America-electronic opening along with bass drum, gives feel for entire song; basically
about what its like living in America, trying to achieve the American dream-what the
mindset of American people have (lift me up, give me strength to press on); guitar riff
near the end of the song reminiscent of a true rock song, one of the few songs that have

just a guitar solo with few background sounds

Fallen-loud percussion part (bass drum, ect) make it seem like a large epic song;
xylophone maybe?? A new sound that isnt in the rest of the songs; clapping during
bridge-something they seem to do often; (we are fallen, now were just gonna ride it

out)
My Fault-slow opening bass drum line give pulse throughout entire song; only picks up
for chorus; its about being lost in your life, maybe a lost love(?) and knowing that youre

at fault(where do I go from here? is it my fault? Weve been missing each other); has

sad feel throughout entire song, only picks up a little during chorus, but still sad feeling
The River-opening feeling more equal to chorus than verses- slow and sad-build to
chorus then back down for next chorus-largely contradicts each other; guitar-sound
change between verses and chorus to bridge-gets more rock during bridge, electronic
sounding during every other part; about trying to not be a bad person for the sake of other
people(Im not a selfless man, if I had all the money in the world, I would give it to

myself I cleanse in the river for anyone but myself)

Round and Round-orchestration builds up to chorus, large full sound from vocals to
percussion; more along the lines of their epic rock songs than their more electronic rock
songs; (all the emptiness inside you is hard enough to fill) life can be hard, but you

have to keep pushing on(anthem feel)

Selene-light electronic opening-changed with beat of bass drum-still electronic but more
rock; intense guitar part makes it more rock-without it would simple be electronic
sounding; verse and pre-verse different from chorus; (love is clueless, and destiny is
wishing, this is my heart, its on the line); snapping/clapping added like many other
songs; electronic keyboard thrown in before final chorus-makes it all more interesting to

listen to-break from rest of song

Working Man-bass drum opening after simple guitar part; (everything is serious,
everything is fatal, thats what the tell you); pre chorus keyboard part-very different but
still fits into overall theme of song; epic, large, gloomy feel before final chorus, like a
storm was coming-most intense part of song

When and Where?

Recorded from 2009-2012 in las vegas

Music-current era (except radioactive-post-apocalyptic world)

Evaluation?

Love it-my favorite style of music

Could possibly been have put in an order that lyrically make sense or possibly have flows

from one song to the next(i.e same key or chord progression)

Mostly dark themed/toned songs(especially Demons)
Use of bass drum excessive-sets overall tone
Exception-On Top of the World-positive theme and feel-written to express the celebration

of success the band recently gained

Mainly dark lyrics-talk about being down and upset with the world, problems within
oneself-easy for me to relate to because of it (deal with outside world problems and inner
ones); not all about love and happiness and sadness involved with it-there are problems

outside that, which is what this album is about

Tells stories of life-highs and lows and everything in between
Very good at mixing two different styles-electronic and alternative rock-not easy to do
Numerous songs have an anthem feel